SUMMARY: December public events DECEMBER 7
KEY THEMES & VOTING RESULTS
The Open House was held from 5:00pm to 8:00pm on Thursday, Dec. 7 at Linden McKinley High School. The event brought together city departments, nonprofits, and other organizations doing work in Linden together and allowed residents to learn more about them and give input on their initiatives.
TRANSPORTATION •
More direct access to major community resources (i.e. St. Stephen’s, groceries, community centers) through COTA partnerships with alternative transit forms (company shuttles)
33%
•
Repair sidewalks and add additional connections to improve walkability and safety
37%
•
Better bus access and scheduling for resources outside of Linden (i.e. jobs, health, 3rd/off-shift jobs, grocery)
30%
RETAIL & SMALL BUSINESS •
Emphasize local businesses
15%
•
Financial opportunity and capacity
54%
•
Code and law enforcement
31%
HOUSING
DECEMBER 9 The Community Workshop, held on Saturday, Dec. 9 at Linden McKinley High School, was an engaging and participatory event that gave residents an opportunity to review the efforts of Community Working Groups as they relate to the five primary pillars of the Community Plan. Residents worked with facilitators to determine priorities in each of the five topic areas. The results (right) took shape as a poster for each topic that determined the top three priorities for future research. Small groups rotated around five tables so each attendee contributed.
•
Support home ownership - keep housing affordable, encourage low-income housing, finance and repair programs, protect and increase home values
28%
•
No pushout - prevent gentrification! Keep Linden residents in the neighborhood, prevent rent/property tax inflation, help transition from section 8/low-income housing
48%
•
Address blight - reduce vacant properties, code enforcement, improve neighborhood appearance, rehab current inventory, leverage youth programs
24%
HEALTH & SAFETY •
Add cameras, lights, and call boxes throughout the community
23%
•
Build a women’s center that would provide services such as general health, addiction, parenting classes / support, prenatal care, and mental health
19%
•
Improve police and community relations through block parties, consistency/familiarity of officers, offices in the communities they serve, and coordination with block watch
58%
EDUCATION & WORKFORCE •
Create jobs for youth and young professionals to work in Linden
15%
•
Provide opportunities for skills training for living wage jobs (ex. apprenticeship, on-the-job training)
50%
•
Provide education for ex-offenders /workforce development for formerly incarcerated
35%
RESULTS: TRANSPORTATION AUGUST-DECEMBER
WORKING GROUP THEMES
EMERGING THEMES
WALKABILITY & SAFETY
•
Pedestrian safety should be improved along the Cleveland Avenue corridor
More direct access to major community resources (i.e. St. Stephen’s, groceries, community centers) through COTA partnerships with alternative transit forms (company shuttles)
•
Crosswalk interventions at high-risk points
Repair sidewalks and add additional connections to improve walkability and safety
•
Better bus access and scheduling for resources outside of Linden (i.e. jobs, health, 3rd/off-shift jobs, grocery)
•
•
INTERNAL NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTIONS •
COTA should offer additional hours for off-peak employment
•
Change public perception of mass transportation
POTENTIAL STRATEGIES More direct access to major community resources
SPEEDING •
Cars travel too quickly along Cleveland Avenue and internal neighborhood streets
•
Reduce number of one-way streets
•
Install more speed limit signs or other mitigation solutions
CONNECTIVITY •
Improve people’s ability to circulate within the neighborhood
•
Fix broken sidewalks and complete the sidewalk network
•
Add or replace street lights
•
Improve bicycle connections within the neighborhood and to other parts of the city
Repair sidewalks/improve walkability and road safety
Better off-hours access
RESULTS: RETAIL & SMALL BUSINESS AUGUST-DECEMBER
WORKING GROUP THEMES
EMERGING THEMES
PHYSICAL CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS
•
Emphasize local businesses
•
Financial opportunity and capacity
•
Code and law enforcement
•
Improve aesthetics of business corridors
•
Target and sustain code and law enforcement efforts
•
Focus infrastructure improvements (utilities and lighting, parking, streetscape)
POTENTIAL STRATEGIES Emphasize local businesses
FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITY & CAPACITY BUILDING
•
Businesses need access to capital and the neighborhood needs access to financial institutions
•
Entrepreneurs need community support and professional advice
•
Locate business incubator in Linden to encourage local “start-ups”
•
Capitalize on current transportation investments (BRT/Smart Columbus)
Financial opportunity and capacity
COMMERCIAL IDENTITY •
Emphasize local businesses—only found in Linden
•
Create cohesive business identity for commercial corridors
Code and law enforcement
RESULTS: education & workforce AUGUST-DECEMBER
EMERGING THEMES
COMMUNITY PRIDE & HIGH EXPECTATIONS
•
Create jobs for youth and young professionals to work in Linden
•
Provide opportunities for skills training for living wage jobs (ex. apprenticeship, on-the-job training)
•
Provide education for ex-offenders /workforce development for formerly incarcerated
WORKING GROUP THEMES •
Put education and academic success at the center of the Linden community
•
Create a community culture of lifelong learning
•
Increase parental involvement
•
Decrease teacher turnover rates in Linden schools and incentivize most successful teachers to remain in the neighborhood as teachers
POTENTIAL STRATEGIES Create jobs for youth and young professionals to work in Linden
SUPPORT YOUTH MENTORSHIP •
Develop soft and hard skills in order to participate in a global market
•
Partner with other institutions (OSU, Battelle, places of worship, etc.)
•
Conduct vocational aptitude and assessments of students to identify their strengths
Provide opportunities for skills training for living wage jobs
MODERNIZE PROGAMMING & CURRICULUM •
Fully embrace today’s technology
•
Develop after school programs to encourage development of students’ interest (music, art, computer science, etc.)
•
Develop STEM approach that addresses the community
•
Encourage and incorporate adverse childhood experience (ACEs) assessment
•
Develop ambassador/liaison program for each school
Provide education and workforce training for ex-offenders
RESULTS: health & safety AUGUST-DECEMBER
WORKING GROUP THEMES
EMERGING THEMES
BUILD TRUST
•
Add cameras, lights, and call boxes throughout the community
•
Improve police and community relationship
•
•
Increase diversity and community representation in the police force
Build a women’s center that would provide services such as general health, addiction, parenting classes / support, prenatal care, and mental health
•
•
Allow for positive police-resident interactions
Improve police and community relations through block parties, consistency/familiarity of officers, offices in the communities they serve, and coordination with block watch
BUILT ENVIRONMENT •
Improve physical conditions to encourage active lifestyles
•
Increase sense of safety for activities like walking, jogging, and bicycling
POTENTIAL STRATEGIES Add cameras, lights, and call boxes
SUPPORT POSITIVE CHOICES •
Inform community about critical health issues
•
Importance of diet and exercise
•
Conduct campaigns against tobacco use and substance abuse
Offer women health, addiction, parenting, and other support
IMPROVE ACCESS •
Increase access to healthcare, specifically to address infant mortality
•
Address transportation issues to medical facilities
•
Improve access to healthy and affordable food options
Improve police and community relations
RESULTS: housing AUGUST-DECEMBER
WORKING GROUP THEMES
EMERGING THEMES
HIGH QUALITY HOUSING
•
Support home ownership - keep housing affordable, encourage lowincome housing, finance and repair programs, protect and increase home values
•
No pushout - prevent gentrification! Keep Linden residents in the neighborhood, prevent rent/property tax inflation, help transition from section 8/low-income housing
•
Address blight - reduce vacant properties, code enforcement, improve neighborhood appearance, rehab current inventory, leverage youth programs
•
Demand higher standards for landlords and tenants
•
Unify appearance of neighborhood
•
Establish minimum standards and increase code enforcement
SUPPORT HOMEOWNERSHIP •
Increase awareness about home financing and repair programs
•
Offer educational programs and access to capital, like downpayment assistance
POTENTIAL STRATEGIES Support home ownership
ADDRESS BLIGHT •
Reduce number of vacant properties
•
Consider modifications to land bank policies to expedite property acquisition and development or rehabilitation
•
Sustain code enforcement, expedite resolutions
•
Preserve existing housing stock
No pushout - prevent gentrification!
AFFORDABILITY & INCLUSION •
Allow current Linden residents to remain in the neighborhood
•
Consider property tax protection for financially vulnerable individuals
•
Encourage low-income home ownership opportunities
•
Welcome restored citizens into the community
•
Offer variety of housing types (single-family, multi-family, etc.)
Address blight